


Day 3

by peppermintedspice



Series: The World Ends in '97 [2]
Category: King of Fighters, Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Light Angst, kyo is frustrated and iori is not a great conversation partner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintedspice/pseuds/peppermintedspice
Summary: The Reapers' Game is well underway for the Sacred Treasures team. Kyo's starting to have second thoughts about his role in the group-Or at least, his current status with his amnesiac rival.
Relationships: Kusanagi Kyou & Yagami Iori
Series: The World Ends in '97 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806196
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Day 3

**Author's Note:**

> So, how about that TWEWY anime announcement-  
> I got inspired to revisit the one-shot I made a couple months back, so I hope you enjoy this one!

"Erase all the Noise at Towa Records. You have 120 minutes. Fail, and face erasure."

\- The Reapers

* * *

Kyo Kusanagi slashes at an attacking wolf Noise with one of his Psychs, the creature howling in pain before it dissolves into static. Another one quickly takes its place, and the former pyrokinetic is able to take it down with the same efficiency. It had been three days since he, Iori, and Chizuru were thrown into the Reapers' Game-Three days where he had been fighting for his life without his ability to create flames. At the beginning, he didn't think much of it, but now…

"Kusanagi, behind you-!"

Chizuru's alarmed shout snaps him out of his thoughts. Kyo whips around to see a massive shark Noise breaching out of the concrete inches away from him, its mouth wide open in an attack. Before he could be swallowed, a blur of black and red rams into him, sending both of them to the ground. The Noise dives back into the concrete empty handed, its fin sticking right out as it waited for its next opportunity to strike.

"You need to stay alert at all times," Iori snaps. "If you get erased, we're done for."

The redhead gets back up and launches a fireball at the offending shark, leaving Kyo to lie on the ground. He watches his teammates clear the Noise in record time, with Chizuru and Iori dishing out attacks without seeming to break a sweat. As much as he didn't want to admit it...He was jealous.

Why was he the only person whose power was their entrance fee? Was that all he had to give?

* * *

"That's all of them," Chizuru notes, examining her now timer-less palm. "We can take a rest before tomorrow."

She glances at the entrance to the Towa Records store, noting the Reapers' symbol on one of the walls. "I'm going to survey what's available in there. Do either of you want to come?"

Iori brushes the offer away while Kyo shrugs. "I'm not feeling up to it right now."

The Yata heiress looks at the duo with concern, but sighs. "Alright-Just, please don't do anything rash while I'm gone?"

Based on the lack of reaction, Chizuru takes it as a 'yes' and heads inside the store. Once she's in, Kyo sits down on the ground, leaning his back against the store's outer wall. "Ugh...this sucks."

The redhead looks at him with an irritated expression. "If you were paying attention, the mission wouldn't have been as long as it should have."

"No, it's not that." Kyo waves Iori off, not wanting to look at him. "This whole situation's just been pissing me off."

"You willingly joined the Game, so why are you complaining?" Iori asks, turning his attention to the people passing in the street. "It's what you signed up for. Not my fault that things aren't a breeze for you."

The brunette clenches his fist at Iori's indifference to the brief slip of his personal problems. Sure, the redhead would have probably responded the same had the circumstances been different, but for some reason it felt off. As it stood right now, Iori didn't have the same resentment for Kyo like he did before the Game. To him, Kyo was a stranger he knew nothing about. It didn't sit right with the former pyrokinetic, but he figured Iori didn't care enough to even have it on his radar.

"Look, I didn't expect the Game to be going like this," Kyo starts, "First I learn that I'm basically dead- Why wouldn't I jump at the chance to come back? But then, once in the thick of it, I learned that everything's different. This whole thing is literally life or death, I don't have the one ability I could use to help myself, and the one source of familiarity I have-"

He cuts himself off before his thought process can spiral further down, taking a deep breath before continuing. "It's gone. Even my partners aren't the same as the people I went in with before dying. Chizuru's not nearly as composed as before and you...It's like we never met."

Kyo buries his face in his knees. "All I'm saying is that I feel like I'm useless and alone. There, happy?"

It's silent between the two of them for a couple minutes, neither looking at the other.

"...So you're giving up?" The way Iori asks feels more like a statement than a question.

"What? No!" Kyo looks up at Iori, anger bubbling back to the top. "That's not what I meant at all!"

The redhead glares back, scoffing. "I just didn't expect that talk coming from you, Kusanagi."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kyo snaps. "You don't know anything about me!"

Iori is taken aback by the accusation, surprising the former pyrokinetic. He fidgets with the edge of his sleeve as he tries to figure out how to phrase his next sentences.

"Assuming I believe that you're the person taken from my memory like you said, then the Game is actively tampering my memory as per my entry fee. It's not like I forgot about fighting a certain person during the tournaments-I do remember that. As far as I understand though? That person is in the RG and has nothing to do with you. There is not a single moment this week that has changed that belief."

Kyo's stomach churns as he processes what Iori said. Why did he think that the redhead would remember him at all? Iori gave that up, so of course the Game would adjust to keep him from getting his entry fee back midway through. Talking to a brick wall would have been easier.

"..."

The brunette blinks, vision having gone blurry momentarily. He rubs his eyes, only to be confused when his gloves come back damp. Had he almost...?

Iori goes back to watching the crowds move, leaving Kyo alone with his thoughts. He glances inside the store, but Chizuru shows no sign of coming out. They were still going to be here a while.

"What was that guy you were talking about like?" He asks, voice only slightly above a whisper.

Iori leans back on the store wall. "He's...irritating, to say the least. I suppose you two have that in common."

"That's a relief." Kyo laughs dryly. "It's consistent."

One of the corners of Iori's mouth turns upward slightly, but it goes unnoticed. "No matter how bad the situation got, he was stubborn enough to keep fighting."

The redhead sighs, looking down at the ground. "I need to get back to the RG. I can't let that experience be the end of things with him."

"The end of things with him, huh?" Kyo echoes. Sure, Iori's string of death threats were annoying, but the brunette hadn't considered what it meant to him. It wasn't from the family rivalry, but from what looked like the need to find some reason to keep going.

And here he was whining about how he couldn't fight with his flames.

"Y'know, Yagami?" He says, looking out into the street. "I think he's okay. You'll meet him again."

Iori rolls his eyes. "And why do you care all of a sudden?"

"Just a feeling." Kyo responds. "If...no, when we get out of here, introduce me to him. I want to see what he's made of."

The redhead chuckles in response. "Like you'd be able to. I'm going to kill him once the Game is over."

This time, Kyo laughs. "Now that sounds like the Yagami I know."

Before Iori can respond, Chizuru finally exits the store, a bag of items hanging from her arm. "Oh, you two aren't at each others' throats. That's good."

"You really think that lowly of us, Kagura? That's cold." The brunette sarcastically responds, standing back up. "We were fine, right Yagami?"

Iori shrugs. "Kyo was nothing but a nuisance."

The Yata heiress raises an eyebrow at the redhead's statement. "When did you get on a first name basis with him?"

"It's none of your business." He mutters in response. "I'll address people how I want."

Chizuru gives him a tired smile. "Alright, whatever you say."

As his teammates continue to talk, Kyo feels a renewed sense of determination to keep going. There were still some days left in the Game, and there was no way he was going to give up now. He had expectations to live up to beyond his own problems, and there was no way he was going to leave any of them hanging.


End file.
